To Tell the Truth
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: Inui is getting tired of lies. Shounen ai RenInuKai.


Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: This is an entry to the **30-dogpile** challenge in LiveJournal, the theme being _White Lies_. Threesome.

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To Tell the Truth  


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Inui was, in the end, a man of honesty.

Of course, there was the occasional ghost story to his team mates, or some exaggerration of a true story, or the like – all useful for gathering new data. However, even then he dropped hints about the untrue nature of such stories; it wasn't his fault if nobody understood the hints, now was it? In general, he did not believe in lies. Purposefully falsifying data went against everything he believed in. Working his way around the rules didn't mean breaking them.

The more pained he was when, occasionally, he found himself forced to lie.

It was rarely anything big or important, of course, and he always meant good. Like when he told Kaidoh that no, of course he hadn't ever used any kind of insects in his drinks. Or the time he had compared Seigaku's data with Rikkai's and not told Renji that he indeed had much more measurements for Kaidoh than just height and weight. This kind of lies didn't hurt anyone, and even though he felt uncomfortable with it, he could bear it.

The lies he really had trouble with, however, were also the most important ones.

Take the matter of dating, for example. When his mother had started to ask about his constant phone calls and dates, he had come up with an imaginary girlfriend to tell his parents stories about. She was nice and beautiful and intelligent and no, he had no idea why she'd set her eyes on him, and he definitely didn't deserve her and so on. When they had started asking when he would show her to them, he had faked a dramatic and painful break-up with the imaginary girl. His parents had been sorry for him and told him he would soon find another.

How could he have told them that he was already dating – with two different people?

The dating itself had been another matter altogether. He hadn't realized just how dangerously far he had slipped with the two people he considered most important to him until he found himself kissing both Kaidoh and Renji – during the same day. What before had been pleasant meetings with his two best friends had quickly turned into a hell of lies and secrets, trying to keep the truth from the others lest he lose both of the people he loved most. It would have been much easier to simply end it with one person and continue with the other, but even as Inui had wandered deeper and deeper into the swamp of lies, he still hadn't been able to lie to himself. And, being honest to himself, he had known he wouldn't be able to choose.

Finally, though, he had crumbled beneath the pressure, confessing his crimes to both Kaidoh and Renji at the same time. Instead of doing as he had expected them to and abandoning him due to his dishonesty, however, both had eventually forgiven him – though not right away, of course. And not only did they forgive him, but they also told him they might be willing to let this state of things continue – now, though, it would happen openly.

From there they had developed slowly, each approaching the unfamiliar ground warily. There was no advice available to them, no examples of how to make it work. They had to figure it out for themselves – not an easy task even for two young geniuses and one not-so-stupid boy. How was one supposed to go about having two boyfriends who were aware of each other?

Now, Inui had never expected it to be easy. However, he had never expected it to be even more difficult than dating them both without letting the other know. Before, he had been tangled in a web of lies, now he had to try to bring two completely different people to accept each other. He was the only thing the two had in common, aside from tennis, it often seemed. There was no way it could lead to anything but a total disaster.

Inui decided he would be damned if he didn't at least try, though.

The lies were still there, of course. While juggling his meetings so that he could spend time equally with both of his boyfriends had turned into trying his best to fit three different schedules together, it still hadn't ended the need to lie. Kaidoh knew he was seeing Renji, now, and the other way around. Nobody else could know he was dating them both, though.

Fuji had, unsurprisingly, figured out the nature of his relationship with Kaidoh. Eiji knew too, which meant Oishi knew as well – the redhead claimed he hadn't heard it from Fuji, though, instead crediting his "instinct for doubles pairings". Whatever way they had discovered this, Inui had sworn them all to absolute secrecy, hoping it wouldn't spread too far. Well, not outside Seigaku, at least. He was positive Yukimura and Sanada both knew he was seeing Renji, and if these two bits of knowledge ever met each other in some person, there would be hell to pay.

While Inui was happier than he had been in a long, long time – after all, lying to those dearest to him was more painful than anything – he was still pained by all the lies he had to tell continuously to keep the nature of their shared relationship a secret. They were mostly white ones, or just convenient choices of words – like telling his parents he was going to see a movie with his "friends" instead of "boyfriends" – but they were still hiding the truth, falsifying the data. Inui knew very well that it was necessary, and suspected Kaidoh and Renji had no problem telling the same kind of lies themselves, yet he still hated himself for it.

It even came to the point where he welcomed dearly every chance to tell the truth, while he had before taken such a possibility for granted, as most people did. Thus his delight was not entirely due to the circumstances but also to his actual words as he wholeheartedly told his boyfriends that yes, he was indeed very happy to hear they had developed something of an affection for each other, too. The only thing that could have made him happier would have been if he'd been able to tell others about it, too.

In the end, it all got too much for him. After a surprising breakdown that shocked both of his boyfriends, followed by a long, serious conversation with both boyfriends, Inui decided there was only one thing he could do lest he break down even more completely. It wouldn't be easy, they agreed, but they would help him, they would be there for him. No matter what his parents said, they would stay.

Trusting these words, Inui gathered his courage. Then, one evening, he went home with both Kaidoh and Renji. The two other boys staying close to him, he walked to the kitchen, finding his parents there.

"Ah, Sadaharu." His mother smiled at him. "You didn't tell you would be bringing friends over."

"That is something I wanted to talk with you about, actually." Inui cleared his throat, settling a hand on one shoulder of each of the other boys. "Kaoru and Renji... they are not my friends." Calculating a 79 chance his parents would be mortified by his next words – the other 21 being they wouldn't be able to instantly grasp all the implications of his statement – he finished, "They are my boyfriends. Both of them."

Even as his parents looked at him with looks of pure shock on their faces, Inui drew both Kaidoh and Renji closer to himself, refusing to let go of them. Perhaps it wasn't appropriate, perhaps other people would find him twisted or disgusting, but he didn't care. He was tired of lies and secrets and pretending.

For the first time in a long, long time, he would be perfectly honest.


End file.
